The former governor of no Alaska made no news on Fox News last night, despite some tough questioning from Greta Van Susteren ("How does a politician actually connect with someone in the heartland?"). She did not announce a presidential run.

She did offer her take on the rise of a candidate named "Herb Cain."

If you don't want to click, or if your speakers at work are buzzy:

Take Herb Cain. Look at why he's doing so well right now. He's, I guess you could say, with all due respect, the flavor of the week because Herb Cain is the one up there who doesn't look like he's part of that permanent political class. Herb Cain -- he came from a working class family. He's had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that.

Three times in three sentences! Hard not to read that, coupled with the "flavor of the week" line, as a dismissal. But the Cain campaign dismisses this with a laugh. "No one calls him 'Herb' or 'Herm,'" explains Cain spox Ellen Carmichael. "In fact, he has a joke about the 'Herm' nickname. 'You can call me anything you want, just don't call me Herm. Only my enemies call me Herm.' He told me this more than a year ago, so it's definitely not a reflection of Governor Palin."

Apropos of nothing: Palin, like many Republicans, often makes fun of Barack Obama's use of a teleprompter.